Thankfulness (Is that a word?)

So, I've been here long enough now that I'm sure everyone knows how much I despise my employer. I work for the clients from hell exclusively, every day.

I cannot be the only one who has these thoughts about their job.

I also get stuck in ruts where I only seem to mention the bad stuff. The things that make my head want to pop off. And I get tired of it. It makes me forget to appreciate the good stuff in life, and the good things that go along with what I do for a living, and even the people I work for.

One of my favorite songs about ^^^ is Monty Python's version of Always Look on the Bright Side. It reminds me to be thankful for what I have, instead of focusing on what I don't.

I know there is a thread for things that make us forget we have a chain, but in honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to make a thread devoted to the more subtle things in life that get lost in the shuffle, but would really be missed if lost for some reason.

Here are my top 3:

1) Ironically enough, I am starting off with my job. The pains in the ass gave me a chance where I was really struggling to find work so early out of school. And because of the hoops I jump through every day, I am a more diverse designer.

2) My house. It's really old, and has a lot of things wrong with it, and sometimes (last night) I seriously think a monkey built it. But it's solid, and in on a beautiful piece of land. I am more fortunate than a lot of people with my small home.

3) My kids. Both step and Bio. I won't say they are my life because they drive me freaking NUTS, but I'd be lost without them at the same time.

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”-Louisa May Alcott

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And the fact that I'm 50 and can still enjoy 99.9% of the things I enjoy doing.

I'm looking forward to 50 as being the time when I can BEGIN doing the things I enjoy doing HA!

All my time and money away from this place is devoted to kids, and I look forward to the days when I can do my own thing (like buy myself new shoes or a purse...or take a long bath) without guilt or interruption.

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”-Louisa May Alcott

This post is brought to you by the letter E and the number 9. Those are the buttons I push to get a Twix out of the candy machine."I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process."

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This is a great idea for a thread. I try to focus on what's good in my life, but its hard sometimes....

I'm thankful for my wonderful son, boyfriend, family.
I'm thankful I have a job
I'm thankful I own a home I can afford the mortgage payments on
I'm thankful I like my job and the people I work with
I'm thankful every day for waking up and being able to see the sky and smell the air.

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level we created them.” Albert Einstein

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Even though my family drives me nuts, I am thankful they are still here and love me for who I am and support me and everything I do.

My husband is a wonderful man, he provides me (since I still don't have a job). While he doesn't always trust me right out the bat, he knows I know what I'm doing and leaves a lot of life's tasks to me, and of course they work out in the end

My friends, as much as they make fun of me, I know they love me. I am grateful that I can be myself around them with out being (too) embarrassed.

My pets. I am very fortunate to have 2 kitties and a playful doggie. As much as the day-to-day activities of taking care of them tends to get old after a while, they remind me every day with those "I love you mommy" eyes and loving nudges.

I am grateful that I have a roof over my head, as much as my landlord is a d**k, at least I don't have to live with my parents or on the street. And that we are able to buy a house in the next few months.

And last but not lest, I am grateful for you guys! Not many people understand 'us' and it's rare that I get to vent about stuff and people always understand me

Typos are very important to all written form. It gives the reader something to look for so they aren't distracted by the total lack of content in your writing.
- Randy K. Milholland

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even though the 'real' thanksgiving has already passed... I can chime in.

I'm thankful for
1) Bladez, he is the most patient, considerate and compassionate partner anyone could ever ask for. I don't know what I would do without him. I couldn't ask for a better partner (well maybe one that didn't act like a 5-yr-old most of the time and look 15 would be nice too, but hey I can't get it all, lol.)

2) To be alive. It has felt touch and go in the last couple of years at times and it seemed like it wouldn't end, but it's gotten better. So also thankful that , if it's truly the bottom, the only way to go is up.

3) Pharmaceutical companies. Go ahead and laugh. But the 7 medications I currently take have been the 'concoction' that I needed in order to function, have a job, and eat. Nevermind enjoy myself, give back to Bladez (yep just like you're thinking, dirty people), and truly appreciate the great things around me.

4) For creativity, in all it's forms. Paintings, designs, books, crafts, stitching, sculpture etc. It brings a bit of light into the world, and allows to reflect and remember that we live in a crazy, frantic yet gorgeous world.

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1. For my body which can handle anything.
2. For working in a field that I love and that challenges me.
3. For my boyfriend who makes me laugh harder than anyone else, and lets me be myself through and through, and my cat Grey who gives the best cuddles.
4. For the love, and life, and joy in my life every day!
5. For finding this awesome forum and watching your dorks talk dirty all the time

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I saw this thread earlier today, and wanted to contribute, but I had to do a bit of thinking.

I hate my day job (for those who don't know, I hold a day job and do graphic design "odd jobs"). I am thankful that I have a job. It is better than nothing.

I am thankful that I have chosen a lifestyle that allows me to hold a day job and still do things that mean something to me in my off time. I'm thankful that I have made the choices in my life that I have. I haven't got all of this down perfectly, but I'm working on it, and I'm thankful that I have never believed that "I must have this or that," just because it is what other people want.

I'm thankful for the fact that my parents instilled the values in me that led to the above. And for the family I come from in general.

I'm thankful that, a few years ago, I was able to establish a network of friends who, amazingly enough, had the same interests I do in culture and music from the first half of the 20th century.

I'm thankful that I live in an old apartment that leaks heat and has wonky plumbing, but also hardwood floors, period fixtures, a clawfoot tub and a chandelier, for relatively cheap.

I'm thankful for the intellectual, artistic and musical talents that run in my family and to which I am, to some degree, a recipient. I'm thankful that I know how to draw, and how to play the ukulele and accordion, and to write passably well. All these things give my life a sense of fulfillment.

I'm thankful that I am no longer at the emotional nadir that I was about a year and a half ago. Also thankful for Maine Med's outpatient psychiatry department, and the Free Care program.

And, I'm thankful that there is this bizarre network of people who have never met me in person, but seem to think I'm worth the time of day to have internet exchanges with on this here forum.

People will believe anything, which means I will believe anything…I want to start believing in things that have shapeliness and harmony.
-Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.